


Forbidden Shop of Horrors

by HeadphonesChild



Category: Little Shop of Horrors - All Media Types, Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Alternate Universe - 1950s, Blood and Gore, Homophobia, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, M/M, Murder, Period-Typical Homophobia, Sexual Harassment, Unsympathetic Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Unsympathetic Deceit | Janus Sanders, Vore
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-21
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:35:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27137377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeadphonesChild/pseuds/HeadphonesChild
Summary: Virgil Krelborn was fed up with the damn plant. After hours of staring at it, looking through his books, trying to figure out what it was, he gave up. His mind needed a break.He needed to figure out how to care for this plant. Because if he didn’t, Mushnik and Foster’s would go under. Virgil would lose the only job and friends he has. He’d ruin Roman’s life. And he couldn’t live with himself if he did that.But he didn’t know what else he could try. He’d tried all levels of moisture that flytraps thrive in, from desert to mud. He’d tried a variety of plant food and soil nutrients. He’s drained his back up funds on this one plant, trying to get it to grow. Sun, artificial light, no light, it didn’t make a difference. It would just grow and wilt, spurt and flop. He didn’t know what was wrong with the plant. If it was sick, or just stubborn. Even if it died, it would give Virgil answers. But it refused to do even that.----------Cast ListSeymour- VirgilAudrey- RomanMr. Mushnik- LoganChorus Girls- PattonOrin- DeceitAudrey Two- Remus
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders/Deceit | Janus Sanders, Logic | Logan Sanders/Morality | Patton Sanders
Comments: 23
Kudos: 30





	1. Scene One

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know if there are any other tags I need to add. The tags serve as my trigger warnings, so just let me know if I should add any more!
> 
> Read the tags thoroughly, as to prevent getting triggered by anything in the story. That is the last thing I want.

Virgil Krelborn hated Skid Row, more than almost anything in his life. Sure, he had a job that paid him enough, which was more than a lot of people downtown had, but that didn’t mean he owed it anything. And it’s not like he would have a job much longer. Mushnik and Foster’s was on their last legs. They couldn’t afford to ship in new flowers, and all of their previous stock was wilting.  


Virgil knocked a pot behind him with his elbow, and he turned quickly to steady it. There was no way he could let this flytrap crash. Especially when he didn’t even know what it was. Unfortunately, his quick spin pushed the broom from his hands and it fell onto the table, knocking an empty pot to the floor. Virgil winced as it shattered. “What did you break now, Virgil?”  


“Nothing, Logan!” Virgil called back. He quickly went to work, picking up the larger pieces of the pot. He liked Logan Mushnik fine. Outside of work, he was plenty nice, and Virgil might even consider him a friend. But the financial stress of the failing flower shop was starting to get to him, and he started to snap at the smallest things. From the side room, Virgil could hear Patton quietly scolding Logan by the register.  


“Oh, be nice, Lo! Virge has been one of our best workers since we opened!” Logan grumbled to himself, but his lips quirked up at Patton as he turned back to his newspaper.  


The door tinkled as it opened, and Logan looked back up, frowning as Roman Fulquard rushed in. “So, he finally decides to come into work.” Patton glared at Logan. Roman gave a nervous smile.  


“Good morning Logan. Patton.”  


“What morning? It’s two in the afternoon.” Roman flinched back slightly, and Logan sighed. “Not that we had a customer. Who had a customer when you run a flower shop on Skid Row?”  


“I’m sorry,” Roman said quickly, nervously beginning to play with his fingers. Another crash sounded from the side room, and Roman shot his head up. Logan sighed.  


“Virgil, what is going on back there?”  


“Very little, Logan!” Virgil answered quickly. Roman bit back a chuckle at the answer. Logan motioned to the room with his paper.  


“Roman, you’d better get back there and see what he’s-” Patton stepped in front of Roman and grabbed his face gently, face contorted into worry.  


“Where’d you get that shiner?” He interrupted. Logan cut himself off and stood, walking closer to get a better look at Roman’s face. Roman yanked his face from Patton’s hand and turned away quickly, going to hang his sweater on the coat rack.  


“Shiner?” He answered dumbly. Patton huffed, crossing his arms in front of chest.  


“Is it that greasy boyfriend of yours? Has he been beating up on you again?” Roman didn’t answer, just crossed the room to a vase of roses he saw needed arranging. Patton sighed. “Look, I know it’s none of my business, but I’m beginning to think he’s not a very nice boy-”  


Roman cut him off with a sad laugh. “You don’t meet nice boys on Skid Row, Patton. Not when you’re like me.” Patton looked about ready to argue, but Virgil cae barreling into the room, a tray of assorted plants in his arms.  


“Look, Logan, I got these plants repotted for-” Virgil tripped over his own feet and dropped the tray in an attempt to steady himself.  


“Virgil!” Logan sighed, rubbing his temples. “Look what you’ve done to our inventory.” Virgil felt his face flush with embarrassment. He just wanted to be useful, do something other than fuck everything up. That seemed to be all he had been good for so far. But it seemed like that was all he was good for. He scrambled up to his knees and started picking up the shattered pots.  


“Logan! Don’t yell at Virgil!” Patton scolded. Roman rushed over and kneeled beside Virgil, pulling the pottery pieces from his hand and dropping them to the ground.  


“Virgil, you ought to be careful,” he tsked. Virgil’s head shot up, a shy and embarrassed smile immediately coming across his face.  


“Oh. Hi, Roman.” Virgil’s eyes scanned his face. “You look… Is that new eyeshadow?” He asked dumbly. Virgil knew what a black eye looked like. He’d gotten more than a few. But he fell apart around Roman, and he never knew what to say. Roman gave a sweet smile and ducked his head down.  


“I’ll have this cleaned up before any customers arrive,” Roman said, carefully picking up the pieces of broken pots. Logan scoffed.  


“Well, that should give you plenty of time.” Logan shook his head and walked out of the shop. Patton gave Roman and Virgil an apologetic smile and followed him out. Logan was pacing erratically around the front of the shop, muttering to himself. It made Patton’s heart ache, seeing him like this. But Logan had been on a much shorter fuse recently, ever since funds for the shop had started running low. Patton gently placed a hand on Logan’s shoulder, and Logan turned, letting out a sharp sigh.  


“What an existence I’ve got. Misfit employees, bums on the sidewalk, business is lousy. My life is a living hell.” Patton frowned. He wasn’t sure if Logan was talking to him, at him, or about him. He supposed it didn’t matter. Patton rubbed his arm reassuringly.  


“Logan, come on. You know they’re doing their best. And I know you aren’t really mad at them. It’s all this financial stress that’s getting to you.” Logan shook his head and pushed Patton’s hand off his arm.  


“It’s not just that, Pat. It’s that new law. If people found out we were together, we could lose our shop. And then what would happen to Roman and Virgil? Virgil never graduated, he’d never get another job. Especially not with his track record. And no one would hire Roman. Everyone on Skid Row already knows about him. We can’t afford to lose this shop. Whether to the bank or to this fucked-up law.” Patton sighed and nodded. He longed to hug Logan, kiss his cheek, run his thumb over his knuckles to calm him down, but he knew he was right. They couldn’t risk it.  


“Come on, Logan. There’s no use pouting out here.” He attempted a smile. “Let’s get back to those misfit employees.”  


\---------  


Roman couldn’t be more grateful to Logan and Patton if he tried. Growing up as the son of a single mother, an immigrant, New York wasn’t very kind to him. As soon as he turned fourteen, he dropped out of school to work. It was the only way to keep afloat.  


The only thing he ever had going for him was his looks. He had a natural pretty-boy face. Whenever his bosses refused to pay him, which occurred far more often than it should have, he managed to find how to get his way. He’d slept with more closet-cases than any person should ever.  


Of course, that meant his preference was eventually common knowledge on Skid Row. No one would hire him, and when he was, half his checks were torn up and left undeposited. He ended up being more of a toy than an actual worker to anyone who bothered to hire him. In the end, though, Roman didn’t care. He couldn’t. He didn’t have the luxury of being picky. If he was, he would be left homeless on the streets again, or left at home with Dee all day. He didn’t think he could bear that.  


Logan and Patton hired him, and Roman was so damn grateful. They didn’t need to, Roman knew he was a useless worker, but they wanted to give him a chance.  


Still, even so, Roman wanted nothing more than to escape Skid Row. He felt so trapped. Everywhere he went, he could feel the stares following. He wasn’t even safe at home; Dee would remind him what he really worth before he could get to thinking he was much more. But he didn’t have anyone else. Dee was all he deserved. He wasn’t good enough for anyone else.  


Roman jerked his head up from the roses he was arranging as he heard the clock chime.  


“Look at that. It’s six o’ clock, and we didn’t sell so much as a fern,” Logan sighed. He crossed the store and flipped the sign from open to closed, and Roman felt his heart stutter, like it always did in recent days when the sign flipped. He wasn’t oblivious to the financial strain the shop was in. He always worried that it would be the last time he would see that sign flipped.  


“Logan, Patton, uh, forgive me for saying so,” Virgil piped up, wringing his hands nervously. “But has it ever occurred to you that maybe what the firm needs is to go in… A different direction?”  


Roman’s heart sped up. What was Virgil doing? Talking back was the worst thing you could do, even Roman knew that. He moved defensively in front of Virgil, trying to keep subtle so it would remain unnoticed. He couldn’t let Virgil get hit. He didn’t deserve it, he was too nice. Roman knew what it felt like, he could deal with being hit if it came to that.  


“What Virgil means to say,” Roman said quickly, “Well, we’ve talked about it, and we both agree,” yes, shift the focus from Virgil onto himself. Keep Virgil safe. “Virgil, why don’t you run to the back and bring out that new and interesting plant you’ve been working on?” Once Virgil had left the room, Roman felt himself relax. “You see Logan, some of those exotic plants Virgil has been tinkering with are really unusual, and we were both thinking that maybe some of his strange and interesting plants prominently displayed and advertised would attract some business?”  


Virgil came back into the main room, carefully cradling a large plant in his arms. The leaves were slightly wilted and brown, the head drooping. It made Virgil grimace as it was stared at scrutinizingly by Logan. “I-I… It’s not feeling very well today…” Virgil said, placing the pot gently on the window sill. Roman brightened, crossing towards the plant. He carefully ran a finger over the drooping head.  


“Now isn’t that bizarre?”  


Logan hummed, stepping closer. He inspected the plant, and Virgil felt like all Logan saw the failing roots, the wilting leaves, the browning pod. He squirmed uncomfortably. “It is that, at least,” he finally said. “What kind of plant is that, Virgil?”  


Virgil shook his head. “I don’t know. It looks like some kind of flytrap, but I haven’t been able to identify it in any of my books. So I gave it my own name. R-” Virgil froze up. He couldn’t say that he had been planning on calling the plant Roman II, that would sound creepy. Like he was obsessed with Roman. He ran through a list of R names in his mind, saying the first one his racing mind settled on. “Remus.” Patton gave Virgil a knowing look, but Virgil ignored him, clearing his throat. “You see, Logan, if you put a strange and interesting plant in the window, here, then maybe-”  


Logan cut him off. “Maybe what? Don’t realise how ridiculous you sound?” Virgil’s face flushed. He looked down. He supposed it did sound a little ridiculous. “Just because you put a ‘strange and interesting’ plant in the window, people don’t just suddenly-”  


Logan was cut off by the door chiming. Virgil looked up, frowning slightly. He thought they were closed. Was something wrong? Was there a murderer going around Skid Row and this person needed somewhere to hide? Were they the murderer?  


“I’m sorry,” the person spoke up. “I know the sign says closed, but I couldn’t help but notice the strange plant in your window. What is it?” Roman shot a smirk in Logan’s direction.  


“It’s a Remus,” he answered. The customer stepped closer to the plant, look of awe and confusion on their face.  


“I’ve never seen anything like it.”  


“No one has,” Virgil said.  


“Where did you get it?”  


“Well…” Virgil scratched the back of his neck nervously. “Do you remember a few weeks ago? That total eclipse of the sun? That day, I was, uh, walking around the Wholesale Flower District. And I passed by this shop that I frequent, with this, uh, old chinese man. He sometimes sells me exotic cuttings, cause he knows I work at a, uh, a flower shop. He didn’t have anything interesting that day, and I was gonna just go by, when the sun just, uh, totally blacked out? It got very dark, and I heard a strange humming. And when the light came back, this plant had just appeared, just, uh, just stuck in among the zinnias. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t there before, but the guy sold it to me anyways.”  


The customer hummed. “Well… That is an interesting story, and a fascinating plant.” He gave the plant one last look, before turning to head for the door. As he started to push the door open, he frowned and took a step back. “Well, while I’m here, I supposed I might as well buy fifty dollars worth of roses.”  
Patton blinked dumbly. “Fifty dollars?” Roman asked in awe. Logan nodded quickly, heading to the register.  


“Yes, yes, right away sir.”  


“Can you break a hundred?” Logan grimaced, looking down at the register.  


“No, I, uh…. I’m afraid we’ve closed the register for today,” he lied. The customer hummed and pulled out his wallet.  


“Well, I suppose I’ll just have to take twice as many.”  


“Twice as many?” Roman gasped.  


“One hundred dollars worth? Yes sir. Right away. Roman, Virgil, get this man one hundred dollars worth of our finest red roses!”  


Roman and Virgil rushed to the back room, gathering as many still living roses as they could. Virgil wrapped the half dead bouquet as quickly as he could, Roman scrambling around looking for the freshest flowers.  


The bouquet was pathetic, but the customer didn’t seem to notice as it was handed to him. He was still staring at the plant. “Thank you very much, “ he said distractedly. “Yes, that is… One very strange and interesting plant.”  


The shop was deadly silent for a moment, before Patton burst out into excited little giggles. Logan was forcing down a smile. “Well, don’t just stand there!” Logan said. “Quick, quick! Put that plant, what did you call it?”  


“A Remus,” Virgil answered automatically.  


“Put that Remus in the window where passer-bys can see it! My god, I’d never have believed it.”  


Patton laughed, grabbing his and Logan’s jacket’s from the coat rack. “Come on, kiddos! Let’s go out for a celebratory dinner!”  


Roman flashed a sad smile, grabbing his own sweater from the coat rack. “Oh, I’d love to, but I have a date tonight.”  


Patton frowned. “With the same nogoodnik?” He sighed. “I’m telling you Roman, you don’t need a date with him-”  


“You need major medical,” Logan cut in. Patton nodded in agreement.  


“He’s not… A good, clean kinda boy,” Patton said.  


Roman stayed facing the door, refusing to face Patton and Logan. Because he knew they were right. Dee wasn’t a nice guy. He was awful. But that was what Roman deserved. Why didn’t they understand that? “He’s a professional,” he deflected, slipping on his sweater. Logan scoffed.  


“What kind of a professional wears a leather jacket and drives a motorcycle?”  


“He’s a rebel, Logan. But he makes good money. And besides… he’s the only guy I got.” He flashed a weak smile over his shoulder. “Good night Logan, Patton. Virgil. Enjoy dinner.”  


“Goodnight,” Virgil called after him. But Roman was already gone.  


Logan collected his papers from the counter while Patton frowned at the door. “Poor kid.”  


“Are we still going to dinner?” Virgil asked. “Cause… I kinda don’t want to…” Virgil didn’t like crowds, or eating out. It made him overtly aware of the money being spent. Patton turned to Virgil.  


“Of course you don’t have to, kiddo.”  


Logan nodded in agreement. “In fact, I’d prefer if you stayed here. Take care of this sick plant. How come it’s fainting all the time?” He asked, looking up from his stack of papers briefly. Virgil shrugged.  


“I told you, it’s… it’s been giving me trouble. It just… wilts like this… The Remus is not very healthy…”  


Patton sighed. “Neither is The Roman.” Virgil winced slightly at the comment. He knew Roman wasn’t the healthiest. He didn’t want to think about it. He deserved to be the happiest person on earth, not as miserable as he was.  


“If only I knew what breed it was, what genus. But… It’s nowhere in the books.”  


“Well, I hope you figure it out fast. Look what it did for business,” Logan said. Virgil nodded.  


“I know.”  


Patton smiled and walked up to Virgil, patting his shoulder gently. “I’m sure you’ll figure it out soon.” Virgil looked up and gave an awkward smile. “We're counting on you.”  


\----------  


Virgil was fed up with the damn plant. After hours of staring at it, looking through his books, trying to figure out what it was, he gave up. His mind needed a break.  


The sun was beginning to set, and Virgil hadn’t even finished locking up. That’s how much this plant had gotten to him. Usually, that was the first thing he did, because he couldn’t bear to work in a messy space. As he cleaned up the shop, putting his books away and gathering all the display flowers into the backroom, his mind was in another place.  


He needed to figure out how to care for this plant. Because if he didn’t, Mushnik and Foster’s would go under. Virgil would lose the only job and friends he has. He’d ruin Roman’s life. And he couldn’t live with himself if he did that.  


But he didn’t know what else he could try. He’d tried all levels of moisture that flytraps thrive in, from desert to mud. He’d tried a variety of plant food and soil nutrients. He’s drained his back up funds on this one plant, trying to get it to grow. Sun, artificial light, no light, it didn’t make a difference. It would just grow and wilt, spurt and flop. He didn’t know what was wrong with the plant. If it was sick, or just stubborn. Even if it died, it would give Virgil answers. But it refused to do even that.  


Virgil hissed as his finger slipped, cutting himself on a rose thorn. It wasn’t the first time it had happened, and he doubted it would be the last, but it hurt like hell every time. “Damn roses,” he swore. He’d done this so many times that Patton had taken to leaving a first aid kit in one of the drawers of the front counter.  


As Virgil approached the counter, walking past the window, the plant started to open up. Virgil frowned. The plant had never opened up before. What would make it do that? Virgil started for the counter again, and as he got farther from the window, the plant closed up again and started to wilt. Virgil took a few steps back and it opened.  


A few more steps closer, and Virgil could swear he heard that same strange humming from the total eclipse. It looked like the plant was extending towards him. When Virgil held his hand out, the plant followed his hand, and he felt a chill crawl up his spine.  


The blood.  


There was no doubt in Virgil’s mind that that was what caused the plant to open up. But… What was he supposed to do about it? This seemed far from normal, far from a good thing. But, if he didn’t… The plant could die. And the repercussions of that were even worse than losing a few drops of blood to a flytrap.  


Just this once, he promised himself. A few drops couldn’t hurt. It’s not like it’ll become an everyday occurrence.  


He extended his hand over the plant and squeezed at the cut, the plant snapping at the drops of blood like an excited puppy receiving food scraps. The visual made Virgil’s stomach churn.  


But it was his only choice. This had to work. “Please,” he whispered to himself. “Grow for me?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The law the Logan is referring to is an actual law that passed in 1950 (when Little Shop of Horrors takes place) entitled the "Employment of Homosexuals and Other Sexual Perverts". The report states that since homosexuality is a mental illness, homosexuals "constitute security risks" to the nation. This report argued that homosexuals were generally unsuitable for employment. I did alot of research into hate crimes in the 1950s, because I wanted to write this as accurately as possible.
> 
> Also, only 51.9% of people graduated highschool in the 1950s, hence why both Virgil and Roman dropped out. That was very realistic, to be mostly uneducated. Patton also only made it through most of high school. Logan is the only one with a college degree, again, very realistically.


	2. Scene Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan had his newspaper open on his desk, but he wasn’t paying the least bit of attention to it. He was focused on the small transistor radio sat on the corner. He attempted to seem uninterested, but it was difficult with Virgil being interviewed. Patton was sitting next to Logan, fully invested in the interview, leaning forward in his chair with a wide grin on his face.
> 
> “And thus we conclude our interview with Virgil Krelborn, the young botanical- Do you mind if I call you a genius?” The interviewer's voice cackled through the speaker. 
> 
> “Uh, well-” Virgil started. 
> 
> “The genius who has developed a new breed of plant life, hitherto unknown. The Remus. Oh, just one last question, Mr. Krelborn. Do you feed it anything special?” 
> 
> “Special? Uh… It’s a special formula, but it’s… Not hard to come by…”

Logan had his newspaper open on his desk, but he wasn’t paying the least bit of attention to it. He was focused on the small transistor radio sat on the corner. He attempted to seem uninterested, but it was difficult with Virgil being interviewed. Patton was sitting next to Logan, fully invested in the interview, leaning forward in his chair with a wide grin on his face.

“And thus we conclude our interview with Virgil Krelborn, the young botanical- Do you mind if I call you a genius?” The interviewer's voice cackled through the speaker. 

“Uh, well-” Virgil started. 

“The genius who has developed a new breed of plant life, hitherto unknown. The Remus. Oh, just one last question, Mr. Krelborn. Do you feed it anything special?” 

“Special? Uh… It’s a special formula, but it’s… Not hard to come by…” 

“I see, well thanks for dropping by and remember, this is Radio Station WSKID!” The station flickered back to music, and Logan folded up his paper. 

“He didn’t even say where the plant was on display,” he huffed. Patton placed a hand on Logan’s shoulder. 

“It’s still good advertising. Look, we’ve got the sign in the window, and that’s been plenty enough so far! People have come in to see the Remus, and our sales have skyrocketed! We’ll be able to make our payments this month!” 

Logan gave Patton a small smile. “I suppose you’re right.” 

The door chimed, and Virgil walked in, carrying the Remus in one arm. The plant had grown significantly in only a few days, and was now easily two feet tall. Virgil closed the door behind him and gave Logan a nervous smile. 

“Well… How did I do?” 

Patton rushed over and enveloped him in a hug, causing Virgil to shove the plant to his side. “You did amazing Virgil!” 

Logan hummed. “But you didn’t give the address.” Virgil winced. 

“I know… I was nervous. I’m sorry.” Patton pulled away, and Virgil looked around the shop. “Where’s Roman? He said he’d be here…” Logan waved his hand dismissively. 

“Don’t worry about him. You have three more interviews lined up for tomorrow, and the Skid Row Examiner wants a picture.” 

“A picture, Virgil!” Patton squealed. “You’re an overnight sensation! Gosh, I’m so proud of you kiddo!” 

Virgil felt guilty in the back of his mind. He didn’t deserve all this. He didn’t do anything to deserve it. All he did was cut his hand and suddenly, something like out of Edgar Allen Poe. Fame and fortune for pain. Was it worth it? Virgil had lost more blood in the last few days than he had in the last few years, just for this plant. He kept his face neutral. 

“Yeah… I guess you just never know, huh?” He said. Logan walked towards the back room. 

“Virgil, we should work on your interviews for tomorrow so you aren’t so nervous.” Virgil hurried after him, plant in arm. 

A few minutes later, the door chimed again. Patton looked up from the book he was reading at the main desk, ready to help a customer. More had been coming in lately than they were used to. Instead, in rushed Roman. His arm was wrapped in a leopard print sling that hadn’t been there the day before, and Patton’s heart hurt to look at it. Roman closed the door behind him and offered a weak smile to Patton. 

“Hi Patton. Am I late? Did I miss it?” 

“Sure are. And sure did.” 

Roman frowned and hung up his jacket, which had been hanging loosely over his shoulder with the arm in the sling. “Virgil’s first radio broadcast. I wanted to be here to cheer him on. I tried to be here on time, but…” 

“You got tied up?” Patton guessed. 

“No!” Roman defended. “Just… Handcuffed a little…” 

Patton sighed. “Ro, I’ve never met this guy you hang out with, but he’s hazardous to your health…” 

Roman shook his head. “No, no, you don’t get it. The worse he treats me… The more he loves me.” Patton frowned. 

“How so?” 

“I… I know it sounds unusual. But when he hurts me, that’s when he tells me he would never let me go. If he ever stopped, it would mean he loved me less.” 

“Roman…” 

“Besides,” Roman started, “I couldn’t leave him anyways.” 

“Why not?” Patton asked. Roman looked at him like he was dumb. 

“Because he’d get angry. And if this is how he treats me when he loves me, I can’t imagine what he’d do when he was angry.” 

“So dump him, get another guy, and let him protect you.” Patton reasoned. He gave a sweet smile. “I already know one who’d be jumping for a chance to go out with you. A little botanical genius.” 

“Virgil?” 

“Bingo.” 

Roman turned bright red and shook his head. “Oh no, we’re just friends! I could never be Virgil’s… I don’t even know if he’s like me. Besides, I’ve got a past.” 

“And who doesn’t?” Patton asked. 

Roman crossed to the arrangement table and took a seat. “I don’t deserve a sweet, considerate, suddenly successful guy like Virgil. He’s the… The greatest. And I’ve got a black eye and my arm’s in a sling.” Roman grinned in a sad way, one that sad there was nothing to smile about. “Still… I dream of a place where we can be together…” 

“What kind of place is that, kiddo?” Roman looked up, embarrassment on his face. 

“Oh, it’s… It’s just a daydream of mine. A little development I dream of. Nothing… Fancy, like Levittown. Just a little street in a little suburb, far from urban Skid Row. The sweetest, greenest place, where everybody has the same lawns out front and the same flagstone patio out back. And all the houses are so neat and pretty… Cause they all look just alike. Oh, I dream about it all the time. Just me, and a toaster, and a sweet guy. Like Virgil…” Patton nodded encouragingly. Roman continued with renewed passion. “We’ll have a fence of real chain link. All the latest appliances: a disposal in the sink, and ironing machine, a washer and a dryer… He’ll grill out on the patio, and he’ll love to mow and weed. There’s plastic on the furniture to keep it neat. Between our frozen dinner and our bedtime, we'd snuggle and watch Lucy on our big, enormous twelve inch screen. It’s a picture straight out of Perfect Homes… Far from Skid Row.” 

Patton smiled sadly. “Maybe one day you’ll get there, Ro.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is shorter! I'm writing them based off of the scenes, and Scene Two is very short. I also want to address something. In this fic, I will be addressing Janus as Dee. The reason behind this is because, before we knew Janus' name, most of the fics written with him used him as unsympathetic, as he was an easy villain, and often used the name Dee to refer to him. For this reason, whenever I plan to write an unsympathetic Janus, I use the name Dee instead to separate him. I don't know if anyone cared, but that was my reasoning behind it.


	3. Scene Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For the first time since Virgil had started working there, Mushnik and Foster’s was closed during the week. And unlike he and Roman had expected it to happen, it wasn’t because the shop was shutting down. Quite the contrary.
> 
> They had been at the shop for more than twelve hours, if he had to guess. Plumbing at six to nine with all of them working. Nine to twelve, they all retiled. They took a short half hour lunch before starting up on tiling again. At two, they finally finished and broke off into groups. Patton and Roman started painting the room in a fresh coat, while Logan and Virgil worked on installing refrigeration. Now, just past six-thirty, all the new installation was done and the third coat of paint was getting finished.
> 
> The phone hadn’t stopped ringing the entire day. 
> 
> Business had been thriving since Remus started to bloom. People, customers, kept calling, asking to purchase flowers. A bunch of peonies, a dozen daisies. Geraniums, Forget-Me-Nots, Fluer-De-Luis… The orders just kept flooding in.

For the first time since Virgil had started working there, Mushnik and Foster’s was closed during the week. And unlike he and Roman had expected it to happen, it wasn’t because the shop was shutting down. Quite the contrary.

They were installing refrigeration for the new display case to keep flowers fresher longer. With the amount customers had been flocking to the store, they had needed to order more flowers than they were used to. They were due for new plumbing, tiling, and painting. And it all had to be done in one day. They couldn’t afford to lose any more business than absolutely necessary. 

As Virgil helped Logan get the refrigeration installed in the display case, the phone rang. Patton dropped his paintbrush and rushed to the main desk, not letting it get past two rings. “Mushnik and Foster’s,” he answered. He gave a wide smile as he nodded enthusiastically. “Yes! This is the shop you heard about on Channel Five News! The Remus is on display here!” 

Roman came into the main room from the back, carrying a fresh can of pale yellow paint to paint over the chipped plaster walls. His arm was no longer slung up, and even though his eye was bruised slightly, he was humming as he painted, a gentle smile on his face. 

Patton hung up the phone. “How’s it going over there, Lo?” He asked. Logan hummed. 

“We’re almost finished. I’m just waiting for Virgil to tighten this last bolt.” Virgil winced as he struggled with his wrench. 

“Sorry… I’m doing my best, but all these band aids make it kind of hard…” 

Roman frowned and turned his head over his shoulder towards Virgil. “You’ve been getting hurt an awful lot lately.” 

Virgil let out a nervous laugh, choosing not to look at Roman and focus on tightening the bolt. “Yeah… Seems like everytime I pick up a pruning shears… I slip…” He yanks on the wrench. “That should be good, Logan.” Logan stood up and walked over to where they had connected the refrigeration to the fuse box. He flipped the switch, and the display case buzzed with cool air. Patton let out an excited laugh and Logan gave a weary smile. Virgil couldn’t blame him. 

They had been at the shop for more than twelve hours, if he had to guess. Plumbing at six to nine with all of them working. Nine to twelve, they all retiled. They took a short half hour lunch before starting up on tiling again. At two, they finally finished and broke off into groups. Patton and Roman started painting the room in a fresh coat, while Logan and Virgil worked on installing refrigeration. Now, just past six-thirty, all the new installation was done and the third coat of paint was getting finished. 

The phone hadn’t stopped ringing the entire day. 

Business had been thriving since Remus started to bloom. People, customers, kept calling, asking to purchase flowers. A bunch of peonies, a dozen daisies. Geraniums, Forget-Me-Nots, Fluer-De-Luis… The orders just kept flooding in. 

“That should be everything. Roman, Patton, how’s the painting coming?” Logan asked. 

“We should be done soon!” Patton hummed. Virgil sat back on his legs and looked around the shop. It looked better than he had ever seen it. 

He pulled himself up to his feet and wiped his hands on the front of his jeans, more out of habit than anything. He walked into the back room, which was just as broken down and messy as before. Virgil found it comforting, in a way. He had never been particularly fond of change, so the familiarity of the room softened the tightness on his heart. In the center of the room, on a rolling palette, was the Remus. In the oversized pot, it was easily six feet tall. It towered over Virgil, but with the vibrant greens and purples, was mostly unintimidating. He gingerly touched the head of the flytap. “Alright, old boy. Showtime.” 

He walked around to the back of the rolling palette and pushed the plant into the main room carefully, unable to see much past the leaves of the Remus. Logan helped him lift the pot off the palette and onto the floor, while Patton and Roman were washing out the brushes. 

Virgil started fussing over the leaves of the plant once the pot was firmly on the ground. “Virgil,” Logan started. “Did you get that order sent out to Mrs. Shiva?” 

“Mrs. Shiva?” Virgil asked, distractedly. 

“Mrs Shiva,” Roman confirmed, shaking out the cleaned brush into the sink. 

“Mrs. Shiva…” Virgil froze, and turned on his heel tentatively towards Logan. “Uh… I forgot…” 

“You forgot?” Virgil grimaced at Logan’s tone of voice. It was eerily cool and calm. He hated when he was like that. “How… Could you forget an order like that? The Shivas are our most important funeral account. An enormous family, and they’re dropping off like flies. I swear, Virgil, if we lose their business over this… You are finished.” Logan glared at Virgil for a moment, fists balled, before turning to leave through the front door. The bell jingled as the door opened, and Virgil winced as it slammed closed. Patton looked between the door and Virgil, giving a rushed apology before following after Logan. 

Virgil let out a puff of air, mind racing. How could he forget the Shivas? They had been their most dedicated patrons, even before the Remus. This wasn’t fair to them, or to Logan. Logan had every right to get mad. 

He leaned back to inspect the soil of the flytrap. The only thing he could do properly. After a beat of silence, Roman spoke up. 

“You know, sometimes, I think Logan is too hard on you.” 

Virgil shook his head. “I don’t mind. I owe everything to him. He’s like a brother to me. His father hired me as soon as I was old enough to work, and Logan could have fired me when he inherited the place, but he kept me on. He even taught me some. I never got to finish school, but I can read just fine because of him. Besides, he gives me every other Sunday off and plenty to clean.” 

Roman huffed. “You know, I think you ought to raise your expectations. You know, know that we’re getting successful, I mean.” He turned away from the sink with a smile. “Why don’t you start with some new clothes?” 

Virgil crossed his arms over his chest, self conscious. He knew he wasn’t the most well dressed. His oversized jacket was torn and worn and covered in patches that Virgil had sown on haphazardly. His jeans were too baggy and torn, and his shoes didn’t fit right. But it wasn’t like he could afford much better before now. “No offense,” Roman said quickly, “But what with all the interviews and photo sessions, a big, important experimental botanist has to look the part.” 

“I’m a very bad shopper, Roman. I don’t have good taste, like you.” 

Roman flushed and looked away quickly, going to put away the freshly cleaned brushes. “Well, I could help you pick things out.” 

Virgil looked over. “You could?” 

“Sure.” 

Virgil took a hesitant step towards him. “You’d go shopping with me?” 

Roman looked over to Virgil, a faint smile on his face. “Sure.” 

Another step. “You’d be seen with me in a public place? Like a department store?” 

“Sure.” 

Another. “Tonight?” Roman looked away quickly. 

“I can’t tonight, I’ve got a date.” Virgil felt his heart fall. Right. Roman looked back at Virgil sheepishly. “But I’d like to some other time.” 

“Sure. I’ll… Pencil you in.” 

A beat. Roman approached with a hesitant step. “I’ll bet you get alotta dates now, huh? Being so popular, all the girls must want to go out with you.” Virgil suppressed a laugh. He didn’t bother telling Roman that it wasn’t girls he was into. It didn’t exactly matter. He wasn’t getting any dates either way. 

“Not dates, exactly.” He crossed over to the cabinet of flower arrangements. He pulled out one and walked over to one of the work tables, beginning to rearrange it as he sat. “But alotta of garden clubs have been calling- asking me to give lectures.” 

Roman came and sat beside him at the work table. “Gee.” 

“Imagine me, giving lectures.” He shook his head. “I never even finished grade school.” 

“That doesn’t matter. You’ve got life experience.” 

“Some experience,” Virgil scoffed. “I don’t even know what it’s like to fly in an airplane.” 

“Me neither,” Said Roman. 

“Or go to a fancy dinner at Howard Johnson’s.” 

Roman looked up at Virgil. “Me neither.” 

“Or ride a motorcycle.” 

Roman looked away. “Oh, it’s no big deal. Besides, it’s dangerous.” 

“It is?” 

“Extremely dangerous.” The conversation fell silent. “Gee,” Roman said, breaking the tense pause. “I’d better go fix my face. My date’ll be here any minute.” \---------- Patton hated when Logan got worked up. Often, he was able to catch up to Logan after he stormed off and calm him down. But sometimes, like this time, he hesitated too long, and Logan was long gone by the time Patton got outside. Patton knew Logan wouldn’t do anything to put himself or others in danger. Even when he was heated, he thought rationally. That was one of the reasons he was so hot headed, but also why he cooled so quick. Patton knew he’d be back soon, and that he didn’t have to worry, but that’s just what Patton did best. He sat steps outside the shop, waiting for Logan to come back, when a voice interrupted his worried thoughts. 

“Excuse me sir. Which way to thirteen-thirteen Skid Row?” 

Patton looked up, finding himself being towered over by a man in a black leather jacket and dark brown hair. His right eye was amber, instead of brown like the left, and a large birthmark covered the right side of his face. Patton hurried to stand. 

“It’s right here! But, I’m sorry. If you’re here to see the Remus or buy flowers, you’ll have to come back tomorrow. The shop is closed today.” 

“I’m not here to buy posies,” He said. “I’m here to pick up my date.” Patton raised a brown, and stepped back on a step, giving himself a few extra inches. 

“You aren’t, by chance, talking about a guy with a black eye? And… Several other medical problems?” 

“As a matter of fact-” 

Patton could feel his blood boiling. It wasn’t often that he got angry. But when he did, he was a force to be reckoned with. Logan was almost always with him when he lost his temper before he got himself in too much trouble. Without Logan, Patton wasn’t sure he could stop himself from doing something too drastic. He shoved his finger into the man’s chest. 

“Who do you think you are, treating him like that?!” Patton yelled, fire burning in his veins. “Get out of here, beat it! Don’t come back!” 

The man held up his hand in surrender, though he didn’t look the least bit intimidated by Patton. 

“Please, please, I’m friendly! Truce! Pacem!” He pulled an inhaler from his jacket pocket and offered it to Patton. “You want some nitrous oxide?” 

Patton scrunched up his nose. He ignored the question. “Why don’t you get lost? The last thing Roman needs is more of your kind.” 

“My kind is all very kind,” The man said, shrugging. “I’m not a monster.” 

“What else would you call it?” 

“I would call it…” He appeared to mull it over as he took the inhaler to his mouth and took in nitrous oxide. “I would call it an occupational hazard.” 

“Occupation hazard?” Patton asked doubtfully. 

“You see, my line of work requires certain fascination with human pain and suffering.” He put the inhaler to his mouth again, letting out a breathy laugh as it came away. He looked at it with wonder. “This stuff is great!” 

“What are you on about?” 

“Allow me to explain.” He gave Patton a toothy grin. “When I was younger, my ma noticed funny things I did. I wasn’t the best behaved kid. I shot puppies with my bb gun, poisoned the fish in our pond.” He let out a laugh. “Once, I caved in the neighbor’s cat’s skull with a baseball bat.” 

Patton felt sick as he listened to this man. It was more than just the actions he was describing that made his stomach roll. The man seemed pleased, almost proud of what he had done. “Ma said I should be a dentist. I have a natural tendency for causing things pain, so she said. I mean, when you’re a dentist, people pay you to be inhumane.” He laughed loudly and looked to Patton, like he expected him to agree. “And how right my ma was. I’m a success!” 

“Right…” Patton muttered. As the man got closer, he didn’t have the strength to try and push him away. He shouldered past Patton and into the shop. He didn’t say anything directly threatening to Patton, and actually treated him with relative respect, but Patton couldn't help but be terrified of the man. Anyone who could do those kinds of things to animals, to people, to Roman… Patton didn’t want to interfere with without Logan’s input. \---------- Virgil was finishing the last bouquet he planned to arrange when the bell on the door jingled. He shot his head up towards the door. 

“Hey, how you doin’?” The casual nature of the man caught Virgil off guard. He was rarely the one to interact with customers. He would take care of the plants, manage the shipping orders… That was where his specialty was. Patton and Roman were the sociable ones. Hell, even Logan was better with customers than Virgil was. He scrambled for an answer to the man’s question. 

“Uh, fine, thank you. But the shop’s closed.” 

“I’m not here to shop, I’m here to…” His sentence trailed off as the Remus caught the corner of his eye. He crossed over to it and looked it up and down, hands shoved into the pockets of his leather jacket. “Hey. This must be that plant they’re talkin’ about. Whatdya call it?” 

“A Remus.” 

“Nice name. Catchy. Nice plant. Big.” 

Something about this man really made Virgil’s skin crawl. He hadn’t done anything in particular, but something in his gut twisted whenever that man took a step. 

“Thank you, I raised it myself. Now, if you don’t mind,” Vigil said, trying to brush the feeling off. “I’m not really supposed to letting anyone-” 

“I hear it’s some kind of new species or something.” Virgil was cut off. Irritation flared in his veins. 

“Yes, that’s what they tell me. But you have to leave now, we-” 

“It’s okay, Virgil.” Virgil spun on his heel towards the voice, seeing Roman coming out of the back room. His makeup was all done up again, his black eye covered up carefully. “This is my… my boyfriend. Virgil, Dee Scrivello.” Dee snapped his fingers at Roman, and he flinched. “D.D.S.,” He said quickly. 

Dee flung his arm over Virgil’s shoulder’s. Virgil had to fight his instinct to shirk away. “I’ll tell you something, guy,” Dee started. “You say you raised this thing right?” 

“Right.” 

“Well, if I were you, I sure as hell wouldn’t keep it under a barrel down in a Skid Row dump like this.” Dee punctuated his sentence with a shoulder grab. It appeared to be good natured, but it was too tight, and Virgil could feel his skin bruising. “This avocado here could be your ticket to the stars! You could take it to any florist shop in town and name a price. Hell, somebody’d make you their goddamned partner to get their hands on this!” He gestured enthusiastically to the Remus. 

“I don’t care. I’m happy here.” 

Roman gave a small smile and took a step forward. “Virgil’s very loyal.” 

Dee’s expression changed in a second. It seemed as though he had never been smiling as he dropped his arm from around Virgil and turned to Roman with a hard look. “Somebody talking to you?” 

Roman looked down to his feet and took a step back. “Oh… No…” He put his hands behind his back in a submissive manner. “Excuse me…” 

Dee took a step towards Roman, and the shorter flinched. “Excuse me, what?” 

“Excuse me, doctor.” 

Dee gave a pleased smile. “That’s better.” He turned back to Virgil. “I’m telling you, kid, this thing’s a big green goldmine! Get your ass out of this dump and take the plant with you.” He scoffed. “Mushnik and Foster’s Skid Row Florists? Feh, it’s like a joke. You hear me talkin’?” 

“I hear you,” Virgil said, altogether detached from the conversation. 

“Shouldn’t we be leaving now?” Roman asked softly. Dee turned on his heel, his threatening aura coming back at full force. Roman let out a small squeak and took another step away. “I’m sorry.” 

“Sorry, what?” He took a threatening step forward, leaving less than a foot between him and Roman. 

“I’m sorry, Doctor… I’m sorry, Doctor…” 

Dee gave Virgil a wide smile. His teeth were too white, too perfect, and made Virgil’s skin crawl. “You gotta train ‘em, eh stud?” He punched Virgil’s shoulder in a manner that was likely meant to be friendly, but it really just hurt. “Well, my bike’s outside and double parked. But you think about what I said, scout… I mean it. You think about it.” 

“Sure, sure. I’ll think about it.” He wasn’t going to think about it. He just wanted Dee out of the shop. His answer seemed to please the other man, and he nodded. 

“You do that. Okay.” He walked over to the door and placed his hand on the knob. “Roman!” He called. It was unnecessary, as Roman was only a few feet away, but that didn’t seem to matter to him. Roman scrambled to Dee’s side, a look of pure misery on his face. “You got the handcuffs?” Dee asked. 

Roman coloured and looked away, awkward embarrassment obvious on his face. “Their right in my bag…” He muttered, showing Dee his small handbag. 

“Then let’s go.” 

As Dee and Roman left, Patton and Logan came in. Patton fixed Dee with a weary glare, but Logan largely ignored him. Once the door clicked closed, Virgil could feel all the anger he had been burying down flowing out. He went and got a washcloth, wetting it in the sink. He needed to do something, or he was going to explode. He started vigorously cleaning the main counter. 

“I don’t like that guy, Logan. And you should hear the way he talks to Roman.” Any anger he’d had directed at Logan from before about the Shivas order was completely dissipated, or was now directed at Dee. There was know way he could just keep this bottled inside. He needed to talk about it. “No wonder he looks so unhealthy! It’s enough to make you sick.” He shot a glare at the door. He tossed the washcloth onto the counter. He wasn’t doing enough. He walked over to get the watering can and started watering the plants around the shop. “Sweet and good and handsome as he is, he deserves a prince. Not a sadistic creep like him! What a louse!” He crossed over to the Remus and watered the oversized pot, though he knew it wouldn’t much matter. Water hardly ever made a difference to the flytap. It all came down to blood. “He’s a disgrace to the dental profession!” 

Logan looked as though he hadn’t heard a word Virgil had said. Patton gave a soft, reassuring smile. “We’ve all had a long day,” he said. “We’re going home, kiddo. Will you lock up when you’re done?” 

Virgil gave Patton a puzzled look, but nodded. He locked up almost every night. Patton didn’t need to ask. “Yeah, sure. I’ll see you guys tomorrow, then?” 

Patton gave a wide smile and nodded. He grabbed his and Logan’s jackets from the coat rack. Patton left the shop, and Logan started to follow, but he stood in the door for a moment as he held it open. He left it fall closed as he turned to Virgil. 

“Virgil,” Logan started. “You… Have saved Patton and my flower shop. I’m sure that, without this plant… We would have shut down last month. So… Thank you.” Logan turned and left the shop before Virgil could respond. 

In his eight years of working with or for Logan, he couldn’t recall a single time the other had thanked him. That didn’t mean he didn’t appreciate him, Virgil knew that. Logan just had difficulties accepting help. He had never expected that a simple “thank you” would mean so much. 

Virgil sat on a stool next to the Remus. There had been so many sudden changes in just the past month. And as much as Virgil hated change, he couldn’t help but be grateful. All of these changes had been positive. Good changes. The shop was thriving, and had been renovated, Virgil had more pocket change than he could ever remember having in his life. All because of this strange plant. 

“Who cares if I’ve been a little on the anemic side these past few weeks? So what if I’ve had a few dizzy spells, a little light headedness.” He smiled. “It’s been worth it old pal.” He affectionately patted the head of the flytrap. “Well, Remus. I’m a little hungry. I’m gonna run down to Shmendrik’s and get a bite to eat. I’ll see you in the…” A groan suddenly seemed to come from the plant. It wilted drastically, tilting sharply to one side. Virgil let out a sigh. Here we go again. 

“Look, I haven’t got much left. Just… Give me a few more days to heal, okay? Then we’ll start again on the left hand and-” 

“Feed me.” Virgil stared at the plant. That’s not… That’s not possible. 

“I beg your pardon?” He asked. He had to be hallucinating. Just loosing too much blood and going crazy. The plant couldn’t talk. 

“Feed me!” 

The plant could talk. 

“Remus! You talked! You opened up your… Trap, your thing, you said-” 

“Feed me, Krelborn, feed me now.” Virgil looked back and forth from his hands to the flytrap. 

“I can’t!” 

“I’m starving!” 

Virgil unwrapped a bandaid from his right hand, and held it in his left, trying to force blood out. “Oh boy… Look, maybe I can squeeze a little out of this one, but…” 

The plant straightened out and snapped towards Virgil’s fingers, hoping for something to drop from his fingertips. When nothing fell, the plant wilted again. “I need some food!” 

“I know, I know, but-” 

“More, more!” 

“I haven’t got anymore!” Virgil said sternly. “What do you want me to do? Slit my wrists?” The Remus turned its head towards Virgil, making an interested sound. It looked almost expectant. Virgil took a step back, away from the plant and towards the door, protectively holding his wrist. “Look,” He said, trying a new tactic. “What about I run down to the corner and pick you up some nice, chopped sirloin?” 

“Must be blood!” 

“Remus, that’s disgusting.” 

“Must be fresh.” 

“I don’t wanna hear this!” Virgil held his hands up above his head, stomach rolling. 

“Feed me!” 

“Does it have to be human? Does it have to be mine? Where am I supposed to get it?” Virgil’s mind was reeling as he paced around the shop. This was too much. Too, too much. What was he supposed to do? Sure, he could just deprive the plant, but what if it died? He couldn’t go on draining his own blood forever. 

“Feed me, Virgil, feed me! So I can grow up big and strong!” 

“You eat blood, Remus. Let’s face it. How’m I supposed to keep on feeding you? Kill people?” Virgil could have sworn that the plant grinned at him. 

“I’ll make it worth your while.” 

“What?” He stopped dead in his tracks. His legs felt too heavy to move. 

The plant seemed to laugh. “You think this is all coincidence? Your sudden success around here?” 

“Look, you’re a plant. An inanimate object.” He had to rationalize this. Even if this plant could talk, there was no way in hell that this plant had supernatural powers. 

“Does this look inanimate to you, punk?!” The Remus started shaking so violently, Virgil was afraid it was going to tip over and smash the pot it was in. “if I can talk, and I can move, who’s to say I can’t do anything I want?” 

“Like what?” Virgil asked hesitantly. 

“Like deliver, pal! Like see you get everything your secret, greasy heart desires. What do you want? A Cadillac? A guest appearance on the Tonight Show? I can get it for you.” 

“No thanks, Remus. That’s kind of you to offer, but-” 

“Would you like to make it big? Dine out for every meal? I’m the plant who can do it! I’m as good as a genie, I’m your willing slave! Just take a chance, feed me!” 

Virgil took a step back. This was too much. What was he supposed to do? But everytime he took a step back, the plant seemed to just get closer to him. 

“Come on, Virgil! Take this chance! Show some initiative, and your life will rival King Tut’s!” 

He couldn’t deny the plant outright. That would almost certainly result in his death. Not to mention how tempting the offers were. He had to be careful about this. “I don’t know… I can’t just go killing people…” 

“You didn’t have anything till you met me,” The plant argued. “C’mon, kid. What do you want? Money? Dates? One particular date? How about that Roman? Think it over! There must be someone you can eighty-six, real quiet like, and get me some lunch.” Virgil gave the Remus a curious look. It could do that? Get Roman to fall for him? The plant seemed to sense that Virgil was leaning towards it’s proposition. 

“Gee, I’d like a Harley…” Virgil said. It seemed to fall from his lips involuntarily. But once he started talking, he couldn’t stop. “Going around like I was James Dean.” 

“Now you’re cookin’! So go get it!” The Remus’ trap followed Virgil as he approached. “It’s not that profound, Krelborn. Just take a breath and look around. Alotta folks deserve to die.” 

Virgil’s steps halted. He held up his hands in front of him, and he scrunched up his face. “Wait a minute! Wait a minute! That’s not a very nice thing to say!” 

The plant tilted, looking at Virgil like a lost puppy dog. “But it’s true, isn’t it?” 

“No! I don’t know anyone who deserves to be chopped up and fed to a hungry plant!” The plant seemed to smirk as it turned to the shop door. 

“Mmmmm… Sure you do…” 

As if on cue, the bell on the door dinged. The plant went completely still as Roman rushed in, Dee following in a flurry of anger. 

“Stupid flit! Christ, what a fuckin’ scatterbrain!” Dee yelled, shoving Roman inside. Roman winced at every word. 

“I’m sorry Doctor! I’m sorry Doctor!” 

“Now get the hell in there and pick up your goddamn sweater, you dizzy cow!” He pointed to the back room. 

“Yes Doctor! Right away, Doctor!” As Roman rushed past Virgil, he offered a weak smile and a hurried explanation. “Hi Virgil. I left my sweater here before.” 

Dee crossed his arms in front of him, a scowl etched into his face. “C’mon, move it, you slut!” He called as Roman was just disappearing into the back room. He looked at Virgil, almost as if he was asking if he could believe this. In a way, Virgil couldn’t. “How’d you like that stupid fag? Forgets his fuckin’ sweater…” Roman came back into the main room, tugging his jacket on. As he reached Dee’s side, Dee’s hands clenched at his sides. “Christ, if your stupid head weren’t screwed on!” 

He stepped forward and slapped Roman. Virgil felt his blood simultaneously boil and freeze over. The jacket was momentarily forgotten as it hung off Roman’s body on one arm and he reached up to touch his cheek. Virgil could see where Dee’s sterling silver ring had cut Roman’s cheek. The cut looked shallow, but it was bleeding. When Roman pulled his hand away, his fingers were touched with blood. 

“Dee! That hurt!” 

That only seemed to anger Dee more. He glared down at roman and pointed at the shop door. “Move it!” Roman flinched and hurried out of the shop. Dee wasn’t far behind. 

Virgil hurried to the door, planning to go after them. There was no way he could let Roman go with Dee after that. But he stopped cold in his tracks, and spun slowly towards the plant. The Remus had already started moving again, and Virgil understood. If there was anyone who deserved to be fed to a hungry plant… It was Dee. 

“The guy sure looks like plant food to me…” The plant said. 

“He’s disgusting. Treating Roman so bad.” Virgil said, glaring back at the door. “Smacking him around and talking so tough. I haven’t seen a day that Roman hasn’t come in with some new bruise.” He gave a sly smile towards the plant. “You need blood, and he’s got more than enough.” 

The plant seemed to smirk at Virgil. “So go get it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pacem- Latin for "peace"  
> Flit- Gay slang popularized in the 1950s by J.D Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye


	4. Scene Four

Virgil gripped the bag in his hand tightly, crumpling up the words “Mushnik and Foster’s” until they were barely visible. What was he doing? This wasn’t him! He couldn’t just kill Roman’s boyfriend! He’d be caught! But his legs seemed to move of their own accord, because he was inside the dental office, his mind racing and unable to catch his breath.

He looked around the lobby, and found it completely deserted. This only made him grip the bag tighter. Now he had no excuse to back out. No one was here. No one would witness. 

“Next!” Virgil jumped as Dee appeared in the lobby, looking down at a clipboard. Virgil stood and flashed a weak smile. 

“I, uh… I guess that’d be me, Dr. Scrivello.” Dee looked up, brows furrowing. 

“Do you have an appointment?” 

“We met yesterday… Virgil Krelborn?” 

“Ahhh…” Dee nodded. “Of course! The kid with the plant.” 

“Right…” 

“And the band-aids.” 

“Right.” Virgil nervously opened up the paperbag in his hand, the one he had crumpled in his anxiety, and from it pulled a small gun. It wasn’t anything much, just the one that Logan kept in the shop for safety. He wouldn’t notice it was gone in the few hours before Virgil returned it. He leveled it to Dee, but his hands were shaking so much that Virgil wasn’t sure that he would have been able to make a successful shot anyways. Dee stared at the gun, not so much in fear, but in confusion. 

“...And the gun.” 

“R-Right…” 

Dee frowned. “So… Why are you pointing a gun at me, Virgil?” 

Virgil glaced between the gun and Dee. Why was he doing this? This was stupid! “I-I...I-” Dee snapped his fingers, like he had suddenly had an epiphany. He smiled at Virgil in a condescending way, and it made Virgil feel like a child. 

“Are you a bit nervous about coming to see the dentist?” 

Virgil raised the gun slightly higher, trying to intimidate Dee, but it didn’t seem to do anything. “N-No, I’m not nervous, I-” 

Dee grabbed the gun from Virgil. Considering how much his hands were shaking, it was a rather easy task. He put the gun in his pocket and wrapped an arm around Virgil’s shoulders, beginning to usher him towards the main office with the chair. “It’s only going to hurt a little bit.” 

“No, you don’t understand, I’m not here to get my teeth examined, I-” 

Anger flashed across Dee’s face at being contradicted, but it was gone as quickly as it had appeared. “Why, of course you want your teeth examined!” He grabbed Virgil’s arm and twisted it behind his back painfully. “Say ‘ah’!” 

“No, I-” 

He twisted harder. “Say ‘ah’!” His voice was more stern, commanding. Virgil could see a spark of light in his eyes, and it terrified him. 

“Ah!” He cried out, trying to wrench his arm away from Dee’s grip. 

Dee dropped Virgil into a dip, staring into his mouth. He tsked, and dropped him on the floor suddenly. “Oh, your mouth is a mess, kid. You’ve got cavities, plague, abscess, impacted gums…” 

“I do?” Virgil asked from the floor, rubbing his arm as he tried to dull the pain. 

Dee nodded. “You need a complete oral examination. We’ll start with that wisdom tooth there!” 

Virgil scrambled back. “No!” Dee didn’t seem to hear him. 

“We’ll just rip that little fucker right out of there. What’dya say?” 

Virgil hurried to his feet. “I gotta go.” As he tried to run past, Dee grabbed his arm again. 

“There’s always time for dental hygiene, Virgil! Have you ever seen the results of a neglected mouth?” He pushed Virgil back until he hit the dental chair and forced him to sit down. Dee crossed the room and pulled down a poster of a picture of teeth. Only they didn’t look like teeth anymore. They were rotted black, and the gums were leaking yellow. Virgil felt a wave of nausea come over him. “Look, Virgil! This could happen to you!” 

“It could?” Virgil asked weakly. 

Dee nodded. “Unless I take immediate action!” He grinned. “Let’s get started.” He started towards the chair. 

“Wait! I don’t have any money! I-I can’t afford this!” Virgil said in a last ditch effort to get out. 

Dee laughed. “Oh, don’t worry about that, Virgil! We can work out a… deal. I’m sure.” The way he made his offer made Virgil feel sick to his stomach, but he couldn’t pin why. 

Dee pulled the gun out of his pocket, and Virgil felt a spike of fear, but Dee just placed it on the tray with the other tools. “Don’t want this going off while I’m working, huh?” He joked. Virgil couldn’t even find it in him to fake a laugh. 

Dee started to prep his tools, and Virgil watched in awestruck fear. Dee started in, and Virgil held his hands up. “Wait! Aren’t you gonna give me Novacaine?” 

Dee gave him a confused look. “What for? Dulls the senses.” 

“But it’ll hurt!” 

“Only until you pass out.” Dee started up the drill, and it made a threatening, whirring sound. Virgil flinched back. 

“That’s the drill?” Virgil asked, a tremor in his voice. 

“Of course!” “But it’s rusty!” 

An offended look crossed Dee’s face. “It’s an antique, Virgil!” He shook his head. “They don’t make instruments like this anymore. Sturdy. Heavy. Dull.” Sincere respect and admiration was clear in his voice. “This is gonna be a challenge. This is gonna be a pleasure! I’m gonna want some gas for this one.” 

“Gas?” 

“Nitrous Oxide.” 

Virgil relaxed slightly into the chair. “Oh, thank god. I thought you weren’t gonna use any-” 

Dee stopped where he was crossing the room towards a closet, supposedly to get the gas and a mask, and spun on his heel. He smiled at Virgil, sickeningly sweet. “Oh, the gas isn’t for you, Virgil. It’s for me.” He started towards the closet again. “I want to really enjoy this, and I find that a little giggle gas increases my pleasure enormously.” Virgil could see his face stretch into a smile. “In fact, I think I’m gonna use my special gas mask!” He turned over his shoulder. “Just relax, Virgil. I’ll be with you in a moment.” 

As Dee rushed out of the room, Virgil grabbed for the gun that had been left unattended on the tray. Now was the perfect time to do it. He could shoot Dee now, with no one around and with the doctor unable to fight back as he’s getting high. It was the least dangerous option. It would only take a flicker of pressure on the trigger. Nothing more. Then he’d be gone. Roman wouldn’t have to put up with that sadistic prick for another day. 

But Virgil found his hands were shaking too much. The gun felt as though it weighed a hundred pounds, though it couldn’t be more than five. The cool metal burned his hands. He felt sick, just looking at the gun, He couldn’t do this. No matter how horrible Dee was, no matter how much the plant had offered. He couldn’t kill anyone. 

He dropped the gun back on the tray with an audible clang, making him flinch away. 

Dee came back into the room, and Virgil was sure he knew, somehow, what he had been planning, but the dentist was cackling to himself as a mask was strapped to his face and he carted a can of Nitrous Oxide behind him. The mask covered both his nose and mouth, and fogged with every breath, and Dee was slightly uncoordinated as he came into the room, stumbling over his feet. 

“Oh, boy, Virgil, I am flying now!” He laughed, his voice muffled slightly by the mask. “Oh, the things we are gonna do to your mouth!” He takes another deep breath and gives a sigh. “Well, I guess I’ve had just about enough of this stuff. I’ll just take the mask off and-” He raised his hand to tug at the mask, but it didn’t budge. He frowned and tried again. Then he reached around to the back to untie the mask, but his finger movements were no longer coordinating with his brain, and only managed to knot the mask further. He let out a laugh. “Hey Virgil. Guess what?” 

“What?” Virgil asked. 

“It’s stuck!” 

“What?” 

“The mask! It’s stuck! I can’t get it off!” Dee was still smiling, a slight giggle in his voice. “Jesus Christ, I could asphyxiate in here! Hey Virgil, gimme a hand, will ya?” 

Dee took a step closer to Virgil. Virgil started to lift an arm to help and remove the mask, but hesitated, let his hand hover in the air. Then he let it fall back on his lap. “Well…” 

“Well?” Dee looked at Virgil incredulously. “He says ‘well’?” He laughed. “Virgil, I don’t think you understand! Don’t be fooled by my giggling, it’s just the gas-” another laugh- “It’s got me high.” Dee sunk to the ground, looking lightheaded and dizzy. “But any moment I could die! And this is a rotten way to go!” 

Virgil still didn’t budge. He just stared at Dee, his mind racing. The fates were on his side, it seemed. This… he could kill Dee without firing the gun. Without murdering him. If he didn’t remove the mask for Dee, he didn’t have a chance. He would just go from lack of air. Virgil couldn’t shoot him when he tried, but now he didn’t have to do anything. By staying in the chair, he’d won. 

“Virgil, please-” Dee pleaded, tugging at the mask. “Any moment I’ll be gone! The oxide I’m inhaling makes it difficult as hell to catch my breath-” He panted, one hand at the mask and the other clawing at his chest, as if to open it up for air. Virgil could see his lips starting to turn blue through the mask, and his voice was becoming raspy. 

Dee snapped, anger lighting up his eyes. “Are you dumb?! Can you hear me?! Are you happy?! You’ve killed me! I’ve laughed myself to-” He panted, trying to catch his breath. He pulled at the mask desperately, until his movements became slow and sluggish, and his breaths few and far between. 

Virgil just watched, until Dee’s body became still and the fog on the mask had completely disappeared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so, in the musical, the mask is like a helmet, but I always thought that was stupid, so I decided to try something else. If you've ever been to the dentist and had to use a mask that goes over your mouth and nose, you know that that is the only think you can breathe. However, they are also exceptionally easy to remove. But, prolonged exposure to Nitrous Oxide/without oxygen slows your movements and dulls coordination. So, making the mask a mask that ties behind the head snugly, thus not allowing for any oxygen, and requires fine motor coordination, would make very difficult to remove.
> 
> Sorry this chapter took so long to come out and is so short! Scene four is very short, and I'm keeping to one scene at a time, and it was finals week and I've been very busy with an art challenge I've been working on. You can see that on my Instagram @headphoneschild if you want! Other than that, just wanted to let y'all know that it probably will still be a while before the next chapter, and it will also be pretty short. Sorry!

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know if there are any other tags I need to add. The tags serve as my trigger warnings, so just let me know if I should add any more!


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